April 22 is Earth Day. Earth Day was created in 1970 in an order to demonstrate support for environmental protection. You can easily find events to join in most communities. Last year our apartment set up a potting station, and Benjamin was so excited! I love Earth Day because it’s a great reminder to be more thoughtful year around. We are huge nature lovers in our home, and it has been a really big part of our homeschool philosophy and curriculum, in the past, as well. Here are some easy ways to make every day Earth Day with kids.
Originally published April 2019
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Spend Time Outdoors
Encouraging curiosity and nurturing a lifelong love of nature will help your kids to appreciate and respect nature. Take nature walks. Allow your children freedom to play in nature. Discuss how to be respectful to living things. Have your child document their experiences in a beautifully illustrated nature journal for kids!
Implement a Weekly Nature Day
When it comes to easy ways to make every day Earth Day with kids, this is my favorite. Getting outside with your kids! Here are some nature day ideas and my favorite items for putting together a nature day pack for kids.
Watch Nature & Animal Documentaries
There are SO many great animal-centric documentaries and series available on Netflix and Disney+. They’re absolutely stunning to watch, as well as inspiring. The more you expose kids to nature in this way, the more they’ll grow to love nature. The more they love nature, the more they’ll care about and want to protect it. Check out this list of the 13 best nature documentaries for kids.
Plant a Garden Together
My green thumb can be hit or miss, but we love to try! Fun and colorful pots make keeping a garden even more enjoyable. There are tons of adorable kits for kids to plant as well! Plant herbs to use in your cooking, or a succulent garden… or flowers for the bees.
And speaking of bees, you can get a wooden insect house for your backyard. These are great for housing all sorts of insects.
Read Nature Books & Magazines
This is our favorite, and I’ll admit to having a bit of an obsession. Here are some nature-themed children’s books we love:
Also fun for your nature-loving kiddos, consider a National Geographic Kids magazine subscription. A friend of ours gave Benjamin a subscription as a gift (so thoughtful!) and we love it!
Change Up Your Mode of Transportation
If you live close enough to your child’s school, consider walking or riding bikes to and from. Even doing this once a week will help you save money and help the environment.
Recycle. Donate. Repurpose.
Talk about easy ways to make every day Earth Day with kids. This can be a lot of fun with kids and is probably the easiest! Be creative. Establish good habits.
Get Creative with Animal Crossing: New Horizons
The wildly popular video game for Nintendo Switch, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, is kicking off their first major game update with an Earth Day event, on April 23. Players will have an opportunity to plant bushes on their island now. Check out all the update additions in the video below. Here’s everything you need to know about Animal Crossing: New Horizons and why it’s the perfect social distancing distraction.
PIN TO YOUR NATURE AND THINGS TO DO WITH KIDS PINTEREST BOARDS
